Chain.



PATENTBD SEPT. 26, 1905.

J. HIGKEY.

CHAIN. AYPLIOATIDN FILED MAY 29, 1905.

UNITED STATES earner @FFIQE.

CHAIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26, 1905.

Application filed May 29, 1905. Serial No. 262,874.

To rtZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES Hickey, a citizen oftheUnitedStates, residingat Pretty Prairie, in the county of Reno and State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Chains, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in chains of the class known asdrive-chains, made of duplicate separable links.

The object is to provide a chain superior to those heretofore known inseveral respects, and particularly in having its links formed of partsso constructed and related that they can engage with and disengage fromsprocketwheels smoothly and without friction.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a part of a chain embodying my improvements.Fig. 2 is a side View of a pair of wheels having a chain applied theretoof my improved form. Fig. 3 shows two adjacent links at an angle to eachother. Fig. 4: is a plan view illustrating the manner in which theelements of the link may be detached from each other for the purpose ofinserting a new link.

The chain is formed of a series of articulated links, each formed of apair of side bars A A and a connecting cross-bar B. The crossbars liebetween the spaces through which the teeth of the sprocketwheels extendand serve as the bearing members of the chain with which thesprocket-teeth engage. My chain differs in several respects from thevarious styles of sprocket or drive chains now in common use, onedifference being that the crossbars are situated intermediate the jointsor axes of articulation of the chain-links.

I prefer that the cross-bar B should be integral with one of the sidebars and separable from the other, as represented in the drawings,though this is an incidental feature of construction and not necessaryto carry out my invention. When thus constructed, the outer end of thecross-bar is preferably reduced in size, as indicated at E, and of ashape in cross-section other than round, so that when inserted into thecorrespondinglyshaped aperture F in the opposite side bar designed toreceive it it will prevent the turning of one side bar relatively to theother. I have represented the end E of the cross-bar as beingrectangular in cross-section. It is of a length to extend entirelythrough the side bar A and project a little beyond its outer face inorder to permit a secure connection with such side bar. This may beeffected by means of a split key G, that is passed through an aperture0, formed near the end of the reduced portion of the crossbar. When theparts of the link, the two side bars, and the cross-bar are thus united,theyconstitute a rigid structure.

The links of the chain may be pivotallyconnected in any suitable way. Iprefer that the connection should be such as to permit the easyseparation of any link from its neighbore, and for that purpose I haveadopted the construction which I now describe.

Each of the side bars is provided at one end of the link with a shorttransversely-extending pintle C, that is adapted to enter and articulateWithin an aperture or hearing D, formed in one end of a side bar of anadjacent link. In order that the side bars A of adjacent links may liein line with each other, each of them has one of its ends offset, asindicated at a, to overlap the end of the side bar of the link to whichit is connected. I have represented the apertures D as being formed inthe offset portions of the side bars.

The means for connecting or coupling together the links permit the readyseparating and uniting thereof, both when building up the chain and whenit is necessary at any time to shorten it or lengthen it or tosubstitute a new link or links. This is illustrated in Fig. 4, whichshows a section of the chain with the side bars of one line or set ofside bars in the positions which they assume when a link is to be takenout or another is to be inserted. The cotter keys or fasteners G ofthree or four of the links are withdrawn, and this permits a shortseries of side bars to be moved out of their normal positionssuificiently far to free entirely the parts constituting the link at theplace where the chain is to be opened. After being thus freed this linkcan be taken out and the two adjacent ones can be coupled or one or morenew ones can be inserted and the parts again put into proper relativeposition.

It will be apparent from an examination of Fig. 3 that Whenever thechain is bent, as in passing around a sprocket-wheel, the distancebetween the cross-bars of the adjacent links is less than when thoselinks are in line with each other-that is, when the chain isstraightened out. This causes the chain to run with less friction whenin engagement with a sprocket-wheel than does a chain of the type inwhich the cross-bars with which the IIO sprocket-teeth engage are eachconcentric with a joint or axis of articulation. It will be seen byreference to Fig. 2 that as a link (for example, link I) of the chainapproaches the driving sprocket-wheel H its cross-bar B comes intoengagement with the wheel-rim and with the sprocket ii of the wheel atthe same time, the wheel being in rotation and causing this link to rockin relation to the link in advance, the cross-bar B being consequentlydrawn forward slightly, bringing it into close engagement with thefarther or advance side of the sprocket near its base or where it uniteswith the rim of the wheel. Then, as will be seen by considering thechain at the top of the driving-wheel H, the link at I, as it commencesto leave the wheel, swings its crossbar B forward relatively away fromthe front face of its driving-sprocket 7t because of therapidly-increasing distance between its crossbar or pintle B and that ofthe next following link.

Referring to the driven'wheel H and the adjacent part of the chain aboveand approaching it, the link 1 as will be seen, has its cross-bar orpintle B come into contact with the wheel-rim just a little before thelink is bent relatively to the link in advance to correspond with or fitthe circumference of the wheel-rim, and then the cross-bar is caused tocome into close engagement with the near or rear side of thesprocket-tooth by reason of the further bending of the linkas it and thelink in advance take the curve of the wheel, and at the same time thelink I" as it leaves the driven wheel H causes its pintle B to swingoutward (relatively to the wheel H) free of the sprocket k in advance ofit.

A chain of this character works with very little friction and withoutdanger of the links running off the sprocket-wheels, for, as described,the cross-bars of the moving links seat themselves in their correctworking positions upon both the driving and the driven sprocket-wheelsand leave those wheels without being forcibly slid over the faces of thesprocket-teeth, which always causes friction and frequently causes thechain to climb up the sprocket and finally run off the wheel. A chain ofthis character can have the slack side very loose, as indicated by thedotted lines at J in Fig. 2, there being under such circumstances, as iswell known, a marked reduction of the friction incident to such anapparatus. Again, a chain of this character can be run in eitherdirection with equal efliciency.

hat I claim is- 1. A drive-chain formed of duplicate links eacharticulated to the next, and each having a pair of side bars and asprocket-engaging cross-bar, the cross-bar of each linkbeing-intermediate of the axis of its articulations with the next link,substantially as set forth.

2. A drive-chain formed of separable duplicate links, each link having apair of side bars and having means near its ends for articulating withanother link and having a sprocket-engaging cross-bar extending from oneside bar to the other and situated approximately midway between the endsof the side bars, substantially as set forth.

3. A chain comprising two lines of independent side bars, the side barsof each line being articulated to each other, and means independent ofthe articulated parts of the side bars for connecting the two linesthereof to each other, substantially as set forth.

4:. A chain comprising twolines of independent side bars, the side barsof each line being articulated to each other, the lines of side barsbeing normally parallel but capable of mdvement toward and from eachother, and cross-bars detachably connecting the side bars together forholding them parallel to each other, substantially as set forth.

5. A chain comprising a line of side bars along one side thereof havingjoints by which they are united, another line of side bars parallel withthe first, and along the other side of the chain, and having jointsuniting them to each other, the joints of the side bars at the oppositesides of the chain being directly opposite to and entirely independentof each other, and cross-bars connecting the two lines of side bars,substantially as set forth.

6. A drive-chain formed of duplicate links each adapted to engage with awheel-tooth, each articulated directly to the next, and each formed withtwo separable side bars, one of said side bars having integral therewitha cross-bar adapted to engage with a wheeltooth and to be detachablyconnected with the opposite side bar, said cross-bar being situated onlines intermediate of the axes of articulation of its link,substantially as set forth.

7. A chain-link having a side bar A formed with an outwardly-turnedpintle at one end and a corresponding pintle-aperture at the other end,and an opposite side bar formed with an outwardly-turned pintle at oneend and a correspondiugly-shaped aperture at the other end, and asprocket-engagingcross-bar B adapted to detachably connect together thetwo side bars, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES HICKEY.

Vitnesses:

J. H. SIEBERT, J OHN Ronna'rs.

